Ursula von der Leyen’s move to group Türkiye with Russia and China jeopardises the EU’s new security architecture. Murat Aktaş warns that treating an official EU candidate and ally as an 'excluded partner' is a strategic miscalculation. This deepening crack between rhetoric and reality creates an ontological crisis, threatening the credibility of the enlargement policy
International pressure has led to the release of some political prisoners in Belarus. However, these cases may reflect not a weakening of the country's repressive regime, but its transformation. Aleh Baradzin argues that these 'releases' are, in fact, a mechanism for forced expulsion from Belarus
Conducting a conjoint survey experiment with 4,730 adults, Peter Chai and colleagues found that voters punish sexual violence most severely. Bribery, meanwhile, incurs substantial costs, adultery and nepotism are penalised less, and male candidates attract heavier punishment for sexual misconduct, whereas female candidates face lighter penalties for nepotism
France claims that a 'safer’ Europe is the goal of its new nuclear policy. Yet Robin Gilman argues that undermining the nonproliferation treaty is eroding the EU’s credibility and safety, leaving it at a crossroads. It can either remain a reliable partner – or fuel the collapse of the rules-based order
Peru's most polarising politician is making an extraordinary fourth bid for the country’s presidency. Carolina Guerrero Valencia and Ignacio Arana Araya discuss how Keiko built her career on dynastic inheritance and the First Lady role: two shortcuts to power that push fragile democracies toward soft patrimonialism
We commonly hear EU leaders talk about the need to ‘defend democracy’. Yet, as Omran Shroufi shows, their discourse is often more about identifying and naming geopolitical threats than it is about tackling pervasive, home-grown structural problems of democratic disconnect and disillusionment
Most explanations of migrants’ political participation focus on what happens after migration, such as citizenship, institutional access and socioeconomic incorporation. But this is only part of the story. Using data from 23 European countries, Zeynep Menteşoğlu Tardivo and Simona Guglielmi find that origin-country political culture has a lasting influence on political participation
On 13 May 2026, Bucharest hosted the Summit of the Bucharest Nine (B9) and the Nordic countries. Oana-Cosmina Mihalache argues that the reunion’s outcome was indicative of the format’s role in the architecture of European defence cooperation
Belgium often prides itself on being an LGBTQ-friendly country, yet anti-trans activists hide their transphobia behind superficial pro-trans statements. Rylan Verlooy explores how this paradox affects trans people’s activism. Here, he shows how resistance takes the form of everyday acts of educating others, strengthening community spaces, and caring for trans lives
Tensions in the AI race don't necessarily foreshadow doom, but they are the consequence of a game of imperfect information. Jeanne Vincendeau explains that the framework of any game based on Bayesian theory is neutral. The mistrust between China and the US arises from the misinterpretation of each other's behaviour
We use necessary cookies to make our site work. We'd also like to set analytics cookies that help us make improvements by measuring how you use the site. These will be set only if you accept.
▼
Strictly Necessary Cookies
Necessary cookies enable core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility. You may disable these by changing your browser settings, but this may affect how the website functions.
▼
Analytics Cookies
Google Analytics
We'd like to set Google Analytics cookies to help us improve our website by collecting and reporting information on how you use it. The cookies collect information in a way that does not directly identify anyone. For more information on how these cookies work please see our Privacy Notice.
